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Took my wife's car to the Valvoline oil change shop we get our oil changed at, and had them do a transmission flush. Replaced the fluid with Valvoline Max Life fluid that I purchased at an Advanced Auto for about 70 bucks. Local Valvoline place did not have Max Life on hand. Many people here have switched to Amsoil synthetic when doing this, but it isn't cheap. About 10/quart. I opted for the cheaper route.

***I would like to note that when I checked the back labels of the Max Life, the quart size had "all Subaru" listed on recommended vehicles. The gallon size did not. It said to check the website for a complete listing of recommended vehicles, but when my wife checked, it just had the short list from the gallon size (no Subaru), but also said "and others". Thanks Valvoline.

It took almost 13 quarts plus the quart of Trans-X to do the job.

Most of the users on this thread have been using 1 15oz bottle of Trans-X with good results. When I went to make my purchase at a local Autozone, they also had a 32oz bottle. The directions on the 32 oz says to add I 32 oz for every 10 quarts of fluid, so I opted for the bigger size.

Make sure you get the stuff I posted a picture of above (post 74 in this thread). It is available at Autozone and other locations (h/t Valvoline:)

***The first product I bought was the only Trans-X item available currently at my local Advance Auto. It is called Trans-X High Mileage 75K. It is a completely different product than the product the users on this thread have been using. From the description on the can, it seems like it might be the same, but it is EXTREMELY thick. The correct product is about as thin as water. Try the other at your own risk.

As soon as we drove away from getting the job done, the transmission felt noticeably smoother. We drove the car about 3 or 4 times yesterday, and this held. I drove the car this morning, and still good. No delayed drive engagement, but this was an intermittent problem for us so we will see. I will say that the problem had been getting more frequent and worse.

Hope this helps, and thanks to everyone on the forum, particularly Rooster who just saved us about a grand. Owe you one.

Took my wife's car to the Valvoline oil change shop we get our oil changed at, and had them do a transmission flush. Replaced the fluid with Valvoline Max Life fluid that I purchased at an Advanced Auto for about 70 bucks. Local Valvoline place did not have Max Life on hand. Many people here have switched to Amsoil synthetic when doing this, but it isn't cheap. About 10/quart. I opted for the cheaper route.

***I would like to note that when I checked the back labels of the Max Life, the quart size had "all Subaru" listed on recommended vehicles. The gallon size did not. It said to check the website for a complete listing of recommended vehicles, but when my wife checked, it just had the short list from the gallon size (no Subaru), but also said "and others". Thanks Valvoline.

It took almost 13 quarts plus the quart of Trans-X to do the job.

Most of the users on this thread have been using 1 15oz bottle of Trans-X with good results. When I went to make my purchase at a local Autozone, they also had a 32oz bottle. The directions on the 32 oz says to add I 32 oz for every 10 quarts of fluid, so I opted for the bigger size.

Make sure you get the stuff I posted a picture of above (post 74 in this thread). It is available at Autozone and other locations (h/t Valvoline:)

***The first product I bought was the only Trans-X item available currently at my local Advance Auto. It is called Trans-X High Mileage 75K. It is a completely different product than the product the users on this thread have been using. From the description on the can, it seems like it might be the same, but it is EXTREMELY thick. The correct product is about as thin as water. Try the other at your own risk.

As soon as we drove away from getting the job done, the transmission felt noticeably smoother. We drove the car about 3 or 4 times yesterday, and this held. I drove the car this morning, and still good. No delayed drive engagement, but this was an intermittent problem for us so we will see. I will say that the problem had been getting more frequent and worse.

Hope this helps, and thanks to everyone on the forum, particularly Rooster who just saved us about a grand. Owe you one.

Happy to help! Actually, it was a sales guy at Auto Zone who recommended the Trans-X. Not that he knew that the product helped Subie trany problems specifically, but he said he had heard good reports from customers applying the product in a wide range of different cars. Rooster2

It has been about 1 year now, and 10 thousand miles later. The Trans-X is still working. No more problem with Trany delayed forward engagement.

I would not recommend down shifting from 3 to 2 to slow the car down. Yes, an automatic transmisson will do this, but it is far better, and less expensive to replace brake pads sooner for slowing/stopping, then to replace drive train components that have failed because of added driving stress and wear.

Rooster it doesnt add stress to the trnasmission. Thats what thegeras are for, as brakes will fade and fluid will over heat if you push them hard enough and long enough.

Its better to downshift and tap the brakes then to ride them or hit them hard.

my brothers 99 obw was having hte 5/6 second delay when placing into D before the gears would fully connect with engagment. I told him about this fix. His fluid was in nice fresh shape looking, pink, clear, no burn etc. We drained some ATF out of the pan, and added the can of Trans X and drove for about 10 miles. It was a little slow still that night on engagement but seemed a little better. But then he parked the car. It sat for a few days. Next time he drove it, he reported it was fine.
Will report back in for a confirmation on this fix on his.

The actual problem with the '99 and '00 legacy is that the seals on low clutch had a design fault that eventually caused the fluid to leak past the low clutch seals.......here in NZ a few of these, well actually '98 and '99 were the only ones that had the problem here, Subaru fixed a few with this problem under warranty.

What happens when you put the "fix in a bottle" in is it swells the seals and turns them slightly jelly like.........which prevents the seals from leaking therefore temporarily fixing the problem. But it doesn't only swell the leaking seals it swells ALL the rubber components in the trans........not good when you know how a transmission works and see what happens as a result of the "fix in a can"

I have rebuilt a few of these trans for this problem and usually a seal kit fixes the problem as all the plates are usually still in like new condition.

The actual problem with the '99 and '00 legacy is that the seals on low clutch had a design fault that eventually caused the fluid to leak past the low clutch seals.......here in NZ a few of these, well actually '98 and '99 were the only ones that had the problem here, Subaru fixed a few with this problem under warranty.

What happens when you put the "fix in a bottle" in is it swells the seals and turns them slightly jelly like.........which prevents the seals from leaking therefore temporarily fixing the problem. But it doesn't only swell the leaking seals it swells ALL the rubber components in the trans........not good when you know how a transmission works and see what happens as a result of the "fix in a can"

I have rebuilt a few of these trans for this problem and usually a seal kit fixes the problem as all the plates are usually still in like new condition.

Thanks for a good explanation as to how and why the Trans-X fixes the problem. I agree with your reasoning to a point. However, since my 99 OBW had 160K miles on the odo at the time, and was approaching 10 years old, it made a lot of financial sense to add the Trans-X to the automatic transmission. Paying to have a shop do a seal rebuild job has to cost big bucks ($), maybe about $1,000, right? A can of Trans-X cost just $6.

After 18 months, and 20,000 miles of using Trans-X, my trany is still performing well, so the "fix in a bottle" can't be doing that much harm to the rubber seals, or I would have realized it by now. I am thinking this "fix in a bottle" has been a good choice and good decision.

Glad I found this thread!
My 99 outback has 120K and just got "diagnosed" as slipping and needing a replacement by the dealer ($5400 quote). Needless to say I immediately started looking for alternatives. I just walked over to Autozone and got a quart of TRANSX (now sold in a standard plastic quart bottle). I will post results soon.

Glad I found this thread! My 99 outback has 120K and just got "diagnosed" as slipping and needing a replacement by the dealer ($5400 quote). Needless to say I immediately started looking for alternatives. I just walked over to Autozone and got a quart of TRANSX (now sold in a standard plastic quart bottle). I will post results soon.

Paul

Paul,

Trans-X has been good at fixing delayed forward engagement of gears, when moving the gear shift lever from reverse to drive at a dead stop.

However, If you are having a trouble with "slipping" between gears, then this is a different problem, and a problem that Trans-X has not addressed. Still, it is worth a $6 try.

Suggest you change your ATF prior to adding Trans-X. I used the smaller round can, more like pint size with 15 oz. I am thinking that adding a quart amount may be adding too much of the product.

The increment readings on the ATF dip stick is in pints, not quarts like changing oil, so it is very easy to over fill the trany, which is not good.

Post your results........hope Trans-X works for you. My trany with Trans-X is still working fine going on two years with the product. Trans-X works fast. After just 10 minutes of driving, you will know if Trans-X has fixed your trany problem.

I have to agree with rooster2 about the relative value versus downside to using a fix in a can. I was one of the early 99 outback owners who had the delayed shifting problem and followed some earlier suggestions to do multiple fluid changes coupled with in my case Lucas transmission additive. After 15-20 months of perfect shifting, the short term benefits were obvious and after a transmission rebuild for a complety different(and unneccessary)reason, the tranny shop saw no internal problems with my transmission.
P.S. The reason for the rebuild was because no one-3 tranny shops, an auto electric shop etc. could discover an internal loose wire in the dropping resistor. Bummer

It is my understanding that torque bind is caused by problems with the differential, not the automatic trany.[...]

In an auto trans, torque bind is caused by problems related to the tranfer clutch and/or ''C'' duty solenoid, and those parts are located in the trans rear extension housing. (Manuals use a viscous coupling.)

However, I'm not going to get into the merits of an ATF additive to ''fix'' the problem. The search function will lead to enough info on the topic of torque bind to satisfy almost anyone.

I checked the fluid level this morning before adding anything and I was surprised to find that my trans was overfilled by over a quart (well above the HOT F after sitting overnight) I drained out over 2 quarts and added a quart of Trans-X. There is a noticeable difference in the drive engagement -- no more 2 second delay before engaging in drive. Shifts overall seem more predictable but I need a few more miles to fully evaluate the effects.

I checked the fluid level this morning before adding anything and I was surprised to find that my trans was overfilled by over a quart [...]

If the ATF was actually substantially overfilled, the fluid could have become aerated as the trans was running, and that alone might have been the cause of the ''slipping''.

However, it's possible that drainback might have occured overnight. Accurately determining ATF level requires that the fluid be hot, the engine running, and the selector moved through all the gears and then back to Park. See http://www.ultimates...st.php?p=850614 for details.

I checked the fluid level this morning before adding anything and I was surprised to find that my trans was overfilled by over a quart (well above the HOT F after sitting overnight) I drained out over 2 quarts and added a quart of Trans-X. There is a noticeable difference in the drive engagement -- no more 2 second delay before engaging in drive. Shifts overall seem more predictable but I need a few more miles to fully evaluate the effects.

Paul

Paul,Sounds like your car has the dreaded Trany delayed forward engagement that this post addresses. Sounds like Trans-X is helping. Adding a quart quantity sounds like too much to me. The trany holds about 9 quarts total in the trany and torque converted, so running with a percentage of more than 10% of Trans-X is quite high in my opinion. If it were me, I would drain a quart or so, then refill with ATF.

Thanks for the info. I re-checked my fluid level (idling, in park, after 10min freeway drive) and added back most of the quart I thought was overfill. Regardless, the delayed drive engagement is still gone. No other issues either under normal driving or during an hour of stop-and-go rush hour commuting.

I am much more attuned to all the shifts, lockup, disengagements than I was before but nothing seems out of the ordinary. So I don't know if the dealer was recommending replacement based on the delayed engagement alone or if there was some other "slipping" that they noticed.

Thanks for the info. I re-checked my fluid level (idling, in park, after 10min freeway drive) and added back most of the quart I thought was overfill. Regardless, the delayed drive engagement is still gone. No other issues either under normal driving or during an hour of stop-and-go rush hour commuting.

I am much more attuned to all the shifts, lockup, disengagements than I was before but nothing seems out of the ordinary. So I don't know if the dealer was recommending replacement based on the delayed engagement alone or if there was some other "slipping" that they noticed.

Paul

Paul, Glad to hear another Trans-X success story. So far, no one has said that Trans-X has failed to cure the delayed forward gear engavement problem that affects 99 and 00 Legacys. If you can't detect any slipping, then don't think you prolly have any. I am thinking the dealer was recommending replacement on delayed engagement only. Their solution is always dedicated to do R & R (remove and replace) parts as a solution to all problems. No dealer is ever going to suggest that you first try Trans-X..........Rooster2